My quick question of the day (brake bleeding)

Brake bleeding... ahhhh. I bet some of you bleed brakes in your sleep (especially those with Speedbleeders).

Yesterday I bled both fronts and my passenger side rear perfectly... then I found out my driver's side rear was frozen. Got it out with the Mexican socket set (is that too not PC for GRM?) and stuffed a shop towel in the gaping bleeder home hole.

Came back from NAPA today with a replacement bleeder. $1.76 yay!

Do I need to rebleed any of my other lines due to this fiasco?

89 civic Si

Brake bleeding was always a fun exercise. Question for you: Did you only do the fronts? If I am not mistaken you should start with the rears first, then do the fronts. You work your way from the farthest point from the brake cylinder to the closest. At least that is what I was told.

To answer your question; I would. They are your brakes and the thing that stops you before you hit traffic. (pun intended)

I'd start over, personally. Start with the longest line, end with the shortest.

Rangeball wrote: Brake bleeding was always a fun exercise. Question for you: Did you only do the fronts? If I am not mistaken you should start with the rears first, then do the fronts. You work your way from the farthest point from the brake cylinder to the closest. At least that is what I was told. To answer your question; I would. They are your brakes and the thing that stops you before you hit traffic. (pun intended)

I started with the two fronts and then did one rear. An extra foot is in low supply these days.

Ah ha! That makes sense. I don't know why it makes sense, but it does.

I took an old plastic water bottle and drilled a hole in the cap. I then took a short length of clear plastic tubing and stuffed it thru the hole, to the bottom of the bottle. The other end fits tightly over the bleeder. A piece of mechanics wire holds the bottle upright and near the caliper, while keeping the loop of the hose above the bottle and bleeder screw.

I can bleed by myself using this system. Sometimes, I'll tap the caliper (using a hammer handle) and bubbles will appear. Other times, gravity bleeding does as good as two-man bleeding, although it takes a little longer.

I also do this when retracting pistons--it keeps the funky fluid from going back in the line.

Kramer wrote: I took an old plastic water bottle and drilled a hole in the cap. I then took a short length of clear plastic tubing and stuffed it thru the hole, to the bottom of the bottle. The other end fits tightly over the bleeder. A piece of mechanics wire holds the bottle upright and near the caliper, while keeping the loop of the hose above the bottle and bleeder screw. I can bleed by myself using this system. Sometimes, I'll tap the caliper (using a hammer handle) and bubbles will appear. Other times, gravity bleeding does as good as two-man bleeding, although it takes a little longer. I also do this when retracting pistons--it keeps the funky fluid from going back in the line.

I'm trying to imagine how this works. Can you possibly explain it in more detail?

Is it gravity bleeding while tapping the caliper?

Here's an alternative made from fish tank parts....

Go to your local aquarium supply store and buy a couple of directional valves (they only flow in one direction hence the name) in a hose diameter similar to your bleed screws. The valves only cost a couple of dollars apiece.

Remove your bleed screws one at a time and wrap the threads with teflon tape meant for natural gas lines (the yellow stuff. The white stuff can get loose and clog an orifice somewhere. The yellow stuff will not separate). This could be tricky in a system full of fluid. Work fast.

Once the bleed screws are back where they belong, hook up some clear vinyl hose of the appropriate size to each bleed screw with one of the directional valves plumbed into the hose near the caliper/wheel cylinder end. Of course, the valve's flow direction should be towards the catch bottle. You can do one, two or four wheels at a time, depending on how many valves you bought and how many catch bottles you have.

Make sure the catch bottles have an inch of fluid in the bottom. Run your hose end(s) into it/them. I keep some old fluid around for this purpose. So one end of your hose(s) attaches to a bleed screw, runs through a directional valve and into a catch bottle with a little fluid covering the end of the hose.

Crack each bleed screw set up with the apparatus about a quarter turn. I usually start with both rear wheels, then move to the fronts when they're done.

Once everything is set, pump the brake pedal smoothly to the floor. The teflon tape prevents air/fluid leaks through the threads. The directional valve prevents fluid from flowing back towards the caliper/wheel cylinder when the pedal is on the return stroke. Repeat until the fluid runs clean and clear of bubbles. Tap the caliper/wheel cylinder with a small brass hammer and repeat a couple more times if you wish. It's amazing how quickly and easily this setup works. The results are always excellent.

Jerry From LA wrote: Brake bleeding soliloquy

Wow! That's a great idea. I was actually just thinking about teflon tape... here's why...

I'm gravity bleeding as we speak... but the brake bleeder has a little bit of wiggle to the jiggle when turned even an 1/8 of a turn. I'm wondering if all those bubbles are from air in the line, or from air being sucked in around the threads.

I replaced the bleeder with a new NAPA one... but the problem appears to be in the slave cylinder.

That is way too much air to be from the lines, the hose is leaking... I hope.

Teflon tape dissolves in brake fluid, not a good idea, esp if the goo gets pulled into the brake system.

The gas stuff doesn't break down and I've never had a problem with it. Been using this setup for twenty years.

Taiden wrote: I'm trying to imagine how this works. Can you possibly explain it in more detail? Is it gravity bleeding while tapping the caliper?

It's just a hose, hooked to the bleeder screw, that arcs up before going into the bottle. The expelled fluid (and air) goes into the hose--the bubbles float to the top (excess goes to the bottle). I've never needed to seal the threads--a little leaked fluid will seal them, and the weight of the fluid in the tube will ensure fluid returns, and not air.

Gravity bleeding occurs when I open the MC cap, although I doubt it works as well with newer ABS systems as it did on older types. Just open the bleeder and MC cap, and wait. Tapping on the caliper will just help loosen stuck air bubbles.

It helps to have a pedal-pusher, but I've done it without, and had good results.

BobOfTheFuture wrote: That is way too much air to be from the lines, the hose is leaking... I hope. Teflon tape dissolves in brake fluid, not a good idea, esp if the goo gets pulled into the brake system.

The hose is very snug... and it's aquarium hose so it's strechy and makes a good seal.

I think it's from air being sucked in around the loose threads due to negative pressure created by the moving fluid.

I'm trying to figure out how to combat this issue.

I put speedbleeders on my Spit and follow Jerrys method with out the Teflon and aquarium check valves, Speedbleeders already have both.

For stuborn air I will put a long extension or screwdriver against the petal and seat front and compress the petal to the floor and let it sit with the bleeders closed over night.

Speedbleeders sells a sealing compound for bleeders, btw

Pressure bleeder FTW. It is not even possible to bleed the brakes on my milano without using one (at leaft if you have done any major work on the brake system).

Travis_K wrote: Pressure bleeder FTW. It is not even possible to bleed the brakes on my milano without using one (at leaft if you have done any major work on the brake system).

Do you have to activate ABS?

I havent used it on a car with ABS, thankfully my milano is a gold (base model) so it doesnt have it. So, im not sure.

I use a pressure bleeder on all my cars (ABS and non.) No issues whatsoever. And EASY!